• The coronavirus pandemic is having a crippling effect on English football
  • One of the main broadcasters, Sky Sports, are taking a huge hit daily due to it
  • At the earliest, the Premier League will resume on April 30 due to COVID-19

The projected cost of lost broadcast revenue to the Premier League, should the season fail to be completed, has been revealed.


According to The Athletic, the total outlay would be £762million if the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the 2019-20 campaign.

This gargantuan sum would be because of a breach in contract terms agreed for domestic and international rights. Premier League clubs face losing up to £100million if a climax to the campaign is not finished.

On Friday, all 20 Premier League clubs took part in a video conference call to try and plan a way forward as to when to start and how the season should be played out.

That led to a statement where the Premier League, EFL, FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship all saw fixtures suspended “indefinitely” amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The league and its clubs are still fully committed to seeing out the season when it is safe to do so.

Clubs will have to pay back the broadcast money – understood to be around £750million – if they do not complete the games.

Burnley have declared that they stand to lose £50million if the Premier League season is not finished – but insist it will be much worse for others.


A statement from the Clarets has revealed that, if games are finished behind closed doors, then they stand to lose around £5million in lost revenue from their remaining home games at Turf Moor.

That is in contrast to the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal, who, given their much greater attendance and higher pricing at Old Trafford and The Emirates, face losing much more.


But the bigger issue for clubs is certainly the TV money, from BT Sport, Sky Sports and overseas broadcasters, and not finishing the season; for Burnley, that shortfall ultimately stands at £45million.

Again, some more highly-vaunted rivals face losing almost double, as the TV money for the remainder of the season is split (unevenly) between the 20 sides.

A statement from the club, released following the Premier League Shareholders meeting, has outlined the “significant challenges” they and others face.

“Burnley FC are set to lose around £5million in lost revenue from the remaining home games which in the event that the season finishes would be unlikely to be recouped owing to the likely prospect of these fixtures being played behind closed doors.

“In addition, the Clarets face missing out cash payments from the Premier League of up to £45million in broadcasting revenue and other items if the season is not finished.

“It is believed that other clubs could be looking at up to a £100m shortfall.”